Life Without You
by Keleficent
Summary: Deep in the jungle, Arnold finally realizes his true feelings for Helga after nearly losing her.


The cliff crumbled beneath Arnold's and Helga's feet. Thinking fast, Helga pushed Arnold away from the cliff onto safer ground. Unfortunately, this didn't give Helga time to get herself to safety too.

"HELGA!" Arnold screamed the Helga tumbled with the rocks to the bottom of the cliff. Arnold climbed as quickly as he could down to the pile of rocks which Helga was beneath. "Helga…" He grabbed rocks and moved them out of the way. Desperately searching for any sign of Helga beneath the rubble. "HELGA! HELGA, SAY SOMETHING! HELGA! HELGA!"

"Alright already, just stop screaming."

Arnold's head shot in the direction of the voice he just heard. Emerging from underneath the rocks was none other than Helga G. Pataki: dirty and scratched up, but very much alive.

"Helga, you're okay!"

"Yeah, Football-Head, just keep it down. I've got a major headache," Helga complained as she rubbed her head, which was bleeding slightly. "But I always get a headache when you're aro-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Arnold shot himself over to her and wrapped his arms around her. Being in his arms felt heavenly. She cherished every moment expecting it to end soon. But the hug went on so long that Helga, smitten with Arnold though she was, had to force herself to push him away. "Criminy, Football-head, if you want a hug so bad, go hug a tree."

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I just…I…" Arnold paced back and forth breathing heavily.

"Uh, Arnold, are you okay?" In all those years Helga has watched Arnold (with or without his knowledge), she had never seen Arnold like this before. Arnold has always been the cool-headed one, the guy everyone turned to for the plan. Now, he was holding his head in his hands like his brain was about to explode. "Yo! Earth to Football-Head! What's the matter with you?"

"When…when you fell, I thought you…I thought you were...you know…"

"Oh…" Helga was extremely touched that Arnold had been so worried about her. But Helga being Helga, she had to play it off. "Please, it takes more than a little tumble to hurt Helga G. Pataki."

"Yeah…I guess I should have known better. It's just…"

"What?" Helga asked trying to sound annoyed to mask her concern.

"Do you remember when you told me you were in love with and kissed me?"

Helga's insides squirmed. It was the first time he had broken their unspoken agreement to never talk about that night. "I…I…I told you. It was in the heat of the moment! Just-"

"Helga, we both know it wasn't."

Helga closed her eyes and sighed. "Look…can we just forget about it?" Helga tried to keep up her dismissive demeanor, but now her words sounded like pleading. "Even if I did…and I don't…but even if I did…" Helga hugged her knees and looked down sadly. "It's not like you feel the same way."

"That's the thing, Helga," said Arnold. "Ever since you told me that, I can't stop thinking about it…about you."

Helga perked up at his words, now listening very intently.

"I was trying to figure out how I felt about you."

"How…" Helga couldn't believe she was daring to ask this. "How do you feel about me?"

"I mean, you haven't exactly been nice to me all these years."

Helga looked down in shame. "Got me there."

"But…when you fell…when I thought you were gone…I…I started to imagine my life without you."

"And?" Helga asked anxiously.

"And…I couldn't."

"What do you mean you couldn't?"

"I couldn't imagine my life without you."

Helga scolded her heart for fluttering at Arnold's words. "What…what are you saying?"

"I'm saying I think…" Arnold hesitated. He couldn't say it out loud unless he was sure. But nearly losing Helga cemented what he had suspected for a while now. "I think I have feelings for you too."

Before Helga could even take in what he was saying, she found herself lying on her back with Arnold's face above her.

"Helga? Helga, are you okay? You fainted." She just looked at him in wide-eyed shock still not saying anything. "Maybe you need water…or some food. Oh man, I hope you don't have a concussion or-"

Before Arnold could finish his thought, Helga pulled down his head down to hers and kissed him. Since this was not the first Helga unexpectedly kissed him, he was able to react accordingly. He wrapped his arms around her and returned her kiss.

Finally, Arnold had to break the kiss to breathe. Helga seemed to have gotten her second wind though because she had had plenty of air in her lungs to speak. All pretense of the tough-girl Helga was dropped in favor of the poetic, hopeless-romantic Helga she had never shown anyone until now. "I can't believe this. After all these years of loving you in agonizing secret, to have that love returned makes me feel brighter than the morning sun."

"Wow, Helga, I've never heard you talk like this before."

"There is so much you don't know about me, my love. My heart is a treasure trove of secrets. But we have the rest of our lives to share what lies deep beneath our souls. Come now…" She took Arnold's hands. "Let us take on oath pledging our eternal love to each other."

"Whoa…I think maybe we should go a little slower." Arnold gently put her hands down, but still smiling all the while. "How about we start with going to see a movie together?"

"Okay, but you're buying the popcorn, Football-head."


End file.
